


A different kind of blue

by Life_giver



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-03-31
Packaged: 2018-03-20 13:19:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3651828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Life_giver/pseuds/Life_giver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He marveled at how alike and yet how different those eyes were from a memory he'd put away a long time ago. Alec's eyes were a blue one could drown in, a blue that stole hearts, and left bruises in places that would hurt for a long time to come.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A different kind of blue

There were three things that Magnus knew to be true in this life- that glitter was the best go-to accessory when his hair just wouldn't cooperate in the morning, white pants would _never_ be alright and anyone who thought that they were should promptly be sent to the lowest halls of hell, and that Alexander Lightwood was undoubtedly the most confusing, frustrating, _delectable_ person he'd ever had the pleasure of knowing. 

Alec now sat with his head in his hands on Magnus's new vintage distressed leather couch he'd acquired from a blow out sale down the road. Not that he'd taken notice of the sale as he was working up the energy to transport the couch to his living room without all that time and money spent getting it the traditional way. He'd carefully chosen that couch for a moment such as this, and he was not disappointed as he entertained visions less than innocent as he watched Alec moping against the rich, dark leather. Of course, nothing would come of his efforts now, and he was too much of a gentleman to prod. 

"Alexander, it's nothing. Get your coat and we'll find some Downworlder bar to haunt tonight. Maybe we'll get lucky and get our drinks spiked by jealous vampires." He had known when the evening began that something along these lines would happen. And perhaps he was making the evening worse by his suggestion. After all, they'd never had the best of luck around other Downworlders, but hell, did they know how to make a good drink and have a good time. 

Alec raised his head a little and peered up at him with those eyes, the ones that had begun this whole torrid affair. If Alec were an ocean, Magnus would be a thousand leagues under by now. Magnus made a gesture towards the door with his chin and grinned, trying for slightly playful but not _"If we don't leave now, I'm going to hold you down against that couch and have you in every position possible."_ Alec's response was to groan and tilt his head back against the fine leather, brow knitted in awkward, embarrassed pain.

Magnus gave up with a little sigh and sat down heavily next to Alec, all finesse and grace gone for the moment. He was beyond exhausted trying to impress Alec and at the same time not say the wrong thing, or make the wrong move that would have Alec back-stepping a hundred yards. It had already taken him weeks to get them to this point....on this couch.....with Magnus's hand on Alec's knee. 

"You should just throw me out now," Alec groaned melodramatically. 

Magnus was used to pretty boys throwing fits and disrupting the flow with which he went through life. What he wasn't used to was caring about those fits. Magnus hadn't cared about much in the way of emotions in so long now. He'd been afraid during the last few years that he was beginning to turn to stone. 

"It was just a little mistake. It isn't like you killed my cat." He looked over at Chairman Meow apologetically and his cat looked back at him with bland disinterest. Alec looked physically sick for a moment at Magnus's attempt at a joke. 

"Now that would have been inexcusable." Magnus chuckled, the chuckle dissolving into a nervous clearing of the throat as Alec seemed to disappear further into the couch, used as he was to melting into walls when he didn't want to be noticed. Of course that hadn't stopped Magnus from noticing him right away during their first chance encounter. It was hard to miss that face. 

"I would never-" 

"You just sort of smacked me in the cheek while I was trying to kiss you," Magnus hurried to rectify his mistake. 

"Happens all the time. Nothing to be embarrassed about." 

"How many people are you trying to kiss that you get smacked in the face all the time?" Alec suddenly asked with a fervor that took Magnus back for a moment. 

He'd only ever seen that sort of zealous, spitfire anger when Alec was gearing up to go after a demon. The anger was gone in seconds, replaced by that very adorable, very Alec-like embarrassment, but it was enough for Magnus to mentally impale himself upon a long, sharp sword. As he was impaling himself, he did have to admit that an angry Alec was something to behold. He felt his nerves firing and the want to do unspeakable things to Alec on his brand new couch began to prod at him again. If only he could get Alec angry enough to attack him in a way that had nothing to do with demon slaying.

"I'm not trying to kiss anyone these days." _Except for you,_ Magnus wanted to add, but he tactfully avoided making Alec any more uncomfortable than he already was. Magnus looked at the old grandfather clock ticking away the time in the corner of the room and decided he'd had about enough of this drama. 

"If we don't leave now, the place is going to be crowded, and we'll never get a seat." He stood and held out his hand to Alec, who took it with only the slightest hesitance.

They both knew that what they were doing here was crazy, that it would probably get them into a world of trouble in the end but Magnus was willing to risk it all for the sake of a boy with blue eyes. It seemed that Alec was of the same mind, but maybe it was just a bout of teenage rebellion that had him grabbing Magnus's hand and following him out into the night. Magnus wasn't complaining if it got him what he wanted. 

**********

Magnus watched Alec swirl his drink around a few times, the red liquid in the glass mixing and shimmering slightly in the low lamplight of the room. It was a moment before he took a tentative sip and grimaced. He quickly rearranged his face, and then set the drink aside when he saw Magnus looking. Magnus was faintly impressed that Alec had managed even a sip of that odd drink. He definitely wasn't shy about trying new things it seemed. He was here with Magnus after all. 

"They make them strong here," Magnus commented, grinning at the way Alec's cheeks flushed in response to his attention. It was always this way when they were alone and Magnus had found himself fishing for ways to get the blood to rise in Alec's cheeks more often. Their food was on the table before Magnus could think up something embarrassing to slip Alec in the form of a compliment. 

They'd only ordered sides because the bar wasn't known for their food but for their exotic drinks. Magnus had carefully watched the bartender, red tips at the ends of her long nails, mixing the drinks, and when she'd flashed him one of those charming come-hither smiles, teeth a little too sharp at the corners, he'd taken the drinks with a friendly nod of thanks. He'd had enough of vampires during the last century. Not only was he afraid of offending Alec, but he was afraid of what had gone into those drinks and so he took a sip of his own blue concoction, ready for the worst. He hadn't seen her slip anything into it as vampires were wont to do for a little amusement, and the taste was all blueberry and sting and nothing else. 

Alec began to nurse his own drink between picking at the finger foods on the table, and he admirably kept the grimacing to a minimum. Magnus let Alec get comfortable, hoping the alcohol was doing its job. He didn't want Alec drunk, but he wanted him loosened enough to laugh at his jokes, and not leave him looking like an idiot. Though he felt more like an idiot each second that ticked by, and he thought about the way he had leaned in for a kiss earlier, sure that Alec would reciprocate as he had once before. 

He'd miscalculated the move though and Alec with his lightening swift reflexes had turned and smacked him square in the jaw and then fell back against the kitchen counter with a hand over his mouth, eyes wide with horror. Maybe he'd thought Magnus had been about to attack him- he was cautious and fidgety that way. Or maybe he'd just turned at precisely the wrong time to plant his hand in Magnus's face. Either way, it would have been comical if Magnus's jaw hadn't been throbbing right then. Alec had pushed a frozen bag of carrots into his hands and then gone to sulk on Magnus's couch. 

Magnus had had his fair share of bungled dates. He had never been one to discriminate against the many races of Downworlders and humans, each with their own unique set of cultural standards and quirks, but this was the first time he'd allowed himself to date a very young...maybe even too young Shadowhunter. He was learning a little more about Alec each hour, each minute, and though some days he was nearly pulling his hair out in frustration, something kept him here, trying to get just a bit closer....just a little more into Alec's world. 

It wasn't long before Alec stopped picking at the worn edges of his shirt sleeves and relaxed into his chair. Magnus smiled behind his drink and reached out to steal one of Alec's overly salted french fries. Alec let him and even smiled in return. 

"You're right...these drinks..." Alec laughed, his eyes bright and his cheeks warm. 

"I only go for the best." Magnus raised his glass for a toast and Alec leaned over to clink his own nearly drained glass against his. 

"Another round?" The waitress asked as she stopped by their table, but Magnus waved the offer off even as Alec nodded. The waitress looked between them with a raised eyebrow, waiting for them to make up their minds. 

"Believe me, you've had enough. One more of these and you'll be dancing on this table naked....not that that would be a particularly bad thing..." Magnus warned him. Ah there, the blush and....grin? Alec chuckled at the tease, and yes, there was no doubt about it, there was something in the smirk that Alec was throwing him from across the table. 

"Alright then. I assume you'll be paying?" The waitress, knowing Magnus from his weekend escapades here, slipped him the bill over the table. 

"Since you're such a gentleman," She added and smiled over at Alec pityingly, and Magnus inwardly groaned. His reputation had never been the best around here. The waitress had seen him with more than a few paramours over the years. 

"No, actually, I have this," Alec suddenly interrupted.

Alec took the bill easily as Magnus watched on with a mixture of curiosity and he had to admit....maybe a tad bit of arousal. He'd only ever seen Alec take the lead once during the time they'd been seeing each other and that had been to ask him out on a date. Since then, Alec had left Magnus sweating over the most minute details between them, working to get them to a point where intimacy didn't have Alec turning every shade of red and ready to run. 

Though to be fair, Alec looked more than a little tipsy now, and Magnus was convinced of that when he felt a hand on his knee beneath the table. The woman had slipped away to get Alec his change and Alec was looking over at him steadily. 

"I'm ready to get out of here," Alec announced suddenly, fingers slipping a little higher up Magnus's thigh. The breath caught in Magnus's throat and it took everything in him not to drag Alec over the table and finish what he'd tried to do in the kitchen earlier that evening. 

"So am I," Magnus agreed readily. 

They left without Alec's change and Magnus's dirty martini sitting half full on the table. 

**********

He knew something was off the moment they reached his apartment and Alec pushed him against the door before he could even open it. Alec had pushed with more force than necessary and he silently cursed that well-known Shadowhunter strength, knowing he'd have a bruise on the back of his shoulder blade in the morning. 

He wondered idly if sex with Shadowhunters was always this rough. He imagined romance for them came in the form of new blades and fresh bruises. But he couldn't complain too much with Alec's mouth against his own. This was exactly where he had been working to get after all. Alec tasted of sharp alcohol and beneath that, cherries. It was hard to think straight with Alec's hands on his belt buckle and Alec's teeth nipping at his bottom lip with more skill than he'd remembered from their first kiss. 

Magnus managed to just barely get his door open before Alec was pulling him over the threshold and through his living room. Magnus threw a tortured look at the couch he'd labored to acquire for this very specific purpose as he was pulled past it and into his bedroom. He was surprised that Alec remembered where his bedroom was seeing as they'd never quite made it there the few times Alec had shown up on his doorstep looking like a lost kitten. 

Alec shooed Chairman Meow from the end of the bed and the Chairman took a quick second to hiss at him before darting under Magnus's armoire. Alec had definitely lost a few points with that antic. His cat was very slow to forgive and Alec would probably never be invited to another of his birthday parties. Magnus allowed Alec to push him roughly onto the bed and then climb over him while he silently thanked his father in hell for this moment. How his father would have laughed at the fact that one of the precious Nephilim were trying to eat him alive. It felt deliciously sinful. 

Alec's hands were on his belt buckle once more and his fingers were pulling insistently, sharp hips pressing down hard against his own. Or were those hips? Magnus frowned as he slipped his hand down Alec's leg and came up with a hidden blade. He rolled his eyes and tossed the ornate dagger to the floor with a sigh. He would remember to pat Alec down before their next date. He didn't fancy getting stabbed in the side while making out. 

When Magnus shifted his hips, arching into Alec's body, Alec let out a soft groan, something that came from deep within his throat. Magnus's eyes nearly rolled back at how erotic this all was. It had always been a little fetish of his to have one these beings pulling at him this way, eager to fuck him. It was doubly erotic that it was Alec- sheltered, stern Alec- that was pulling at him, kissing the corner of his mouth this way. 

He felt the sting of teeth against his neck, leaving more bruises for him to count in the morning. It was only when Alec's hand slipped against the front of his pants and Alec himself began to slide down his body, lips in places Magnus had only dreamed they'd venture, that his mind began to poke at him. Something wasn't right. He'd known that as soon as Alec had tried to grab him under the table earlier. 

"Wait," He hissed, fingers cupping Alec's face to push him away gently. 

Alec whined, fingers cupping him, hips brushing against him sensually. Magnus let out a tortured sigh at the heated contact. Alec's shirt was half unbuttoned and glimpses of fresh rune tattoos were peeking out from the flimsy material, swirling against his shoulders, down over his chest. The glimpses of Alec's life were just as tantalizing as getting Alec into his bed. To see Alec's passion against his skin in the form of scars and runes...was personal, private, and only a special few were ever allowed that taste of Eden. 

"I've waited long enough," Alec whispered, his pupils blown wide, breath warm against Magnus's cheek. And though he agreed with that statement, this wasn't the way he wanted to do this. 

"They spiked your drink, Alexander. We can't do this." Magnus finally managed to push Alec off of him and Alec rolled away with a frustrated huff. 

"Alexan-" He tried, reaching out to touch him, but Alec was quick to turn over onto his side, putting his back to Magnus. 

"Don't worry, I'm used to being rejected," Alec muttered irritably, his words slurred just the slightest bit.

Magnus frowned at the sudden bitter change and nearly reached for Alec's shoulder again, but he heard snoring coming from deep in the pillow, and just like that, he was out. Magnus decided they'd both done enough damage for one night anyway. The drinks had only lasted long enough to work Magnus into a state and then they had worn off with a quickness that left his head spinning. It was usually that way with spiked drinks and wild Shadowhunters. 

Magnus let out a slow breath and settled down beside Alec on his back, staring up the ceiling he'd had painted like the night sky. Call him over the top, but he'd never had any complaints from any of his lovers about his decorating taste. 

Magnus looked over at Alec's back and inwardly groaned again. This was not how he had envisioned his seduction of Alexander Lightwood. He had known the boy was flighty, inexperienced, and still very much in the closet, but he had wanted this to be different. There was something that kept pulling at him, willing him to make things shift into place between them. And Alexander's last words before sleep had now become a ringing mantra in his head. Rejecting Alec was the last thing he ever wanted to do. 

*******

Magnus regretted last night's adventures as soon as he opened his eyes and a pain shot through his skull. There had definitely been something in those drinks at the bar, it had just taken longer for the affects to hit him. And he'd watched her make those drinks so carefully. He regretfully put the bar down on his list of places to avoid when bringing around a date like Alec. Everyone had probably had a grand time laughing at them as they left the bar with Alec pawing at him. 

But when he turned over onto his side, the regret seemed to melt into the background as he looked over at Alec lying beside him, his hair like ink against the stark white sheets. Maybe it hadn't been all that bad if he'd ended up with a beautiful boy in his bed. Not bad at all really. Alec's shirt was still partially unbuttoned and it allowed him glimpses of the marked skin and dark swirling runes he'd seen last night. Alec's body was a map of his life and Magnus wished he could lie there reading it all morning. 

But Alec was soon awake, turning onto his back, blinking blearily up at the star-speckled ceiling in confusion. Magnus watched him slowly come to the realization of where he was and he smiled as Alec covered his face with his hands and groaned. Magnus flicked his fingers towards the window and the curtains drew themselves together, blocking out the sun and plunging them into a dimness he didn't appreciate. But then Alec's head probably didn't appreciate the bright light, and he wasn't sure he had anything for a hangover laying around the house. It had been so long since he'd had one of those nasty things himself. He had learned his lesson somewhere in the forests of Peru a century ago. 

"Rise and shine," Magnus sing-songed. Alec turned his head and looked at him through the spaces between his fingers. 

"We didn't-" Alec began, voice groggy and muffled. 

"No. Though you were very insistent about blowing me last night, I regretfully declined. I take it upon myself to sleep with people who are conscious that they're sleeping with me." Magnus's grin widened as Alec groaned again and let his hands fall to the bed lifelessly beside him. His face was burning a bright scarlet. 

"I never thought the universe would take my little joke seriously," Magnus lamented. "I'm sorry about what happened-"

"Why are you apologizing?" Alec scoffed, sitting up on one elbow. 

Magnus's heart did that thing it hadn't done for so long now at the sight of Alec's hair sticking up in ten different directions. Alec was a heart-breaker whether he knew it or not. He and Isabelle were more alike than he would ever know. 

His old heart lurched a little, skipped a beat, and Magnus cursed himself that he was allowing this to happen again. He had promised himself he wouldn't get involved with the Nephilim this way. They had always left a sour taste in his mouth, and yet look at where he was- half naked in bed with one of them, and he was feeling as if he'd do anything to keep things this way. That was dangerous thinking. 

He had known what he was getting into the very moment Alec had shown up at his front door weeks ago, looking like a lost boy toeing his welcome mat with scuffed boots. He knew how fragile their time would always be. He saw Alec's life in flashes, could still remember the deathly paleness of his face as he lay dying in a drafty room with Magnus's trembling hands trying to warm him, trying to put life back into that cold skin. Everyone knew that a funeral to a Nephilim was as common as traffic jams at noon in New York. It was a daily ritual, and yet still he had agreed so quickly, too quickly, to Alec's blunt request. 

"I was the one that downed the whole thing. I'm a horrible date," Alec muttered, looking over at Magnus with eyes that were still heavy with sleep. It made Magnus want to kiss him, and push him back down to the bed.....and pile the sheets on top of him until only his unruly hair was sticking out. 

"You were the perfect date. I like my men...strong," Magnus ended for lack of a better word. He frowned and rolled his shoulder back, feeling the muscles protest faintly. He was afraid to look at the damage. 

"Did I hurt you?" Alec's face immediately transformed into a mask of worry and Alec's hands were on him again, but gentle now, so different from last night. 

He pulled the collar of Magnus's shirt down from his neck and Magnus slipped a few buttons free so that Alec could see his back more clearly. He swallowed thickly as Alec's cool fingers traced what must have been a discolored bruise against his shoulder blade. He flinched a little at the touch and Alec grimaced. 

"Sometimes I don't know my own strength," Alec muttered, pulling his hand back and letting Magnus button his shirt back up. 

"I think you do know your own strength. But with a little alcohol in you, you're quite the beast." Magnus reveled in the way Alec's skin flushed down to his neck, but instead of Alec turning his face away to look at something across the room that didn't involve Magnus as he usually would, Alec leaned over and pressed his lips to Magnus's mouth. The kiss was soft, juvenile, and yet Magnus felt it down to his toes. When Alec pulled away, his pupils were blown wide as they had been last night, nearly blotting out the deep blue. He marveled at how alike and yet how different those eyes were from a memory he'd put away a long time ago. 

Alec's eyes were a blue one could drown in, a blue that stole hearts and left bruises in places that would hurt for a long time to come. Everything here was so different than all the times before, and the sudden wave that washed over Magnus made him want to walk away to catch his breath. He could love and lose this boy. 

"What is it?" Alec whispered, pulling away from him, fingers just touching the side of Magnus's neck. Magnus let out a slow breath and then laughed, the laugh catching a little at the most important part. He sounded like he felt. He was completely torn open. 

"Alexander, what would you say to a little breakfast on the balcony?" 

Alec looked at him, his eyes searching, his pupils making way for the blue once again. He'd known that look in Alec's eyes though, had felt it in the kiss, and it was devastatingly beautiful. When the Nephilim fell, they fell like the angels they'd been made from. They left the earth scorched beneath their feet and that terrified Magnus, that he was in the path of something so overwhelming and potentially destructive. There were many that thought Magnus belonged down in the wastelands, and sometimes...sometimes he almost believed that as well. After all, it was there that he had been created. What did hell have to offer heaven? 

They were sure to turn this into a mess and still Magnus swept his arm out towards the kitchen and a smile slipped onto Alec's face. He knew that this would be his ruin. Maybe they both knew it in some strange way and yet they had catapulted themselves straight into each other.

"Why is your cat staring at me?" Alec suddenly asked, breaking the delicate held breath between them. 

Chairman Meow was indeed still sitting under the armoire, doing his best to throw them his most menacing look. Magnus felt his heartbeat begin to slow, resuming the steady pace it had held for centuries. Magnus wondered again why it was so easy for Alec to cut his way through these moments, that for Magnus were nerve-wracking and all important. And yet Alec couldn't even kiss Magnus without hitting him in the face. It was another of those mysteries Magnus would probably never get around to solving. 

"I'm afraid he doesn't like you very much," Magnus admitted sadly.

"You chased him from the bed last night. You could drop him a few pieces of breakfast to earn your points back, but I can't guarantee you anything." Magnus paused for a moment, watching the way Alec's face split into a grin as he watched Chairman Meow sinking further back into the shadows. 

"I have a feeling you'll need those points," He added softly. 

He had a feeling he would have Alec over a lot...more than a lot. He wanted him here every night so that he could peel back the barriers that Alec had so carefully constructed around himself to avoid people who were too loud, and too wild, and too _much_. People like Magnus. He wanted Alec here in his bed, laugh lines pulling his usually stern face into something more carefree. He wanted so much and he wondered if Alec was really ready for him.

**Author's Note:**

> This will be continued in part two!


End file.
